'Use them or lose them' warning as pubs face closure

‘Use them or lose them’ was the warning from a campaign group this week following a series of pub closures in the town.

Mark Newcombe, from the Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead branch of Camra (Campaign for Real Ale), said pubs perform an essential community role and he encouraged people to make the most of them.

The White Horse in King Street is the latest to shut its doors, with a sign up asking for anyone interested in running the pub to contact Enterprise Inns.

The Farmer’s Boy, in Harrow Lane, is also set to close after Christmas, according to the general manager of the Pond House Ryan Tiller, which is owned by the same company as the Farmer’s Boy.

The Pound House is currently closed for renovation and will open on Friday, August 5.

In April, the Greyhound closed – the latest of a number of venues boarded up in Queen Street, which is awaiting redevelopment.

Another Maidenhead pub to go recently is The Golden Harp, Furze Platt.

Mark said: “The problem is when these pubs go, they never come back again.”

He pointed to the Red Lion in Oakley Green Road as an example of some-thing people can try if their pub is threatened with closure. If it is listed as an asset of community value, the local community can make a bid and try to take it over – provided they can find funding.

The Red Lion Public House Regulars and Residents Association is planning to bid for the pub under Right to Bid legislation after it was put on the market by Punch Taverns.

The group hopes to buy the property through a share issue. Anyone interested should visit the group’s Facebook page.

Last week an ‘error in internal communications’ at Punch Taverns led residents to believe the pub had been sold. A spokesman for Punch Taverns said: “We can confirm the Red Lion has not been sold and the current publican will continue running the site for the foreseeable future.

“We will be happy to talk to the local community when they are ready to begin discussions.”

James Ruffell and his Ministry of Silly Walks Signs. James put up a Ministry of Silly Walks sign to encourage people to do a silly walk when they go past his house. The idea is based on a scene from the Monty Python movie. High Street, Sonning. James Ruffell